


Gloves

by Kestrad



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, Nordics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-19
Updated: 2011-10-19
Packaged: 2017-10-24 18:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kestrad/pseuds/Kestrad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every Nordic has his own reason for wearing gloves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gloves

Iceland's cover the pockmarks and sheets of scars, from the days when hunger obscured his world and his body fought his empty stomach. The rashes are gone now but some days he still remembers and he bites before he can help it, tasting the coppery red blood through stringy disgusting cloth.

(And his brothers wonder why he goes through gloves so quickly.)

*

Denmark makes sure his cover his wrists.

(His sleeves are always nice and long, just in case.)

*

Sweden takes care not to look at his too often, because if he does he fancies he can see blood leaking out of them.

(It's still better than seeing his bare hands, where he knows he'll see blood all the time, even if the others reassure him they're quite clean.)

*

Norway's are almost always ragged and worn, as he keeps his hands occupied so that he himself never will be again.

(No matter how ragged they are, they're a barrier between his fingers and other nations he touches, and that's all that matters.)

*

Finland needs none.

(His hands grew back nice and clean.)

**Author's Note:**

> Roughly historical-ish references in this story as follows:
> 
> -Iceland's section refers to his famines. (I seem to remember reading that he had a bunch, or at least was short on food a lot, but can't confirm this anywhere.)
> 
> -Denmark at one point tried to give himself to Prussia (according to Scandinavia and the World), but Prussia refused to take him. I decided I would interpret that as Denmark attempting to commit suicide. I tried adding something to add Prussia to that section, but then decided to go with brevity.
> 
> -Sweden's section refers to guilt over suffering he caused during his days as an empire. No specific event (though Estonia suffered a lot when they had a famine but still had to export food to feed Sweden and Finland).
> 
> -Norway allowed himself to be de facto part of Denmark for a couple hundred years. Then he was taken by Sweden. After he gained independence, he was occupied by Nazi Germany during WWII.
> 
> -Finland the country had to cede its "arm" to Russia after the Winter War, so it's become my headcanon that he lost his arm as well. It's a bit of a stretch for him to lose both hands, as implied in this story, but I decided to go for maximum effect.


End file.
